Portales business expands

Owners of Ashley Furniture in Portales are preparing to expand their services to Clovis at a location on Prince Street.

Cassidy Self, part-owner of the store along with her father Max Merrick, said they wanted to open up an additional location in Clovis to better serve the community.

"With all the growth happening, we felt there was a need for Ashley Furniture in Clovis," Self said.

Christina Calloway: Portales News-Tribune

Ashley Furniture General Manager Jesus Tovar tidies up one of their store displays Tuesday. Tovar says he's excited and nervous about the new Ashley Furniture store in Clovis but feels it will be a great learning experience for the staff.

Merrick says they are planning for a July or an August opening. Self added that this new store will employ 10-12 people.

"The two stores combined will have a little over 40,000 square feet of selling space," Merrick said. "We'll diversify (the two stores) enough to give people more choices."

Merrick said they've been looking for a location for about a year. The property is currently owned by David Petty of Clovis.

"We're thrilled to have Mr. Petty's building," Merrick said.

Self says it's important to stimulate the local economy by keeping business here and an Ashley Furniture in Clovis can help keep any funds that have leaked to other cities.

She added that having both stores will allow them to showcase a bigger variety of styles.

"We're only showing a quarter of what Ashley has to carry now," Self said. "This new store will allow us to show more styles and options."

Self said the biggest feedback she's received from her customers is the importance of being able to see the products in-store. With the Clovis location adding 20,000 square feet, she said customers will be able to see double the products they display now.

Self said the Clovis location will also have different hours to accommodate the larger population of Clovis and heavier volumes of traffic on Prince Street.

The new location is across the street from the North Plains Mall entrance.